Liu Feng and Cheng Xiaoming talk about “Sensory Medicine”
Emma Rengel
Xiaoming Cheng：The main purpose of “sensory medicine” is to gain a more nuanced understanding of one’s own body and the various symptoms that may occur or have already appeared during the process of life, in order to enhance the body’s self-healing ability. The ultimate goal of all human social activities is“life” and“health.” What is health? From birth to death, we undergo various challenges, constituting our life process. When young, we invest time to earn money, and when old, we spend money to maintain bodily health, ultimately realizing that “drawing water with a bamboo basket is in vain.”
What to do when one falls ill? Typically, people go to see a doctor. However, seeking medical attention may not always be the best solution. Many doctors nowadays focus more on examination reports than treating the illness itself. Theoretically, the development of a disease is a lengthy process, and the time it takes from the onset of a disease to its detection by instruments may be longer than imagined by both the patient and the doctor. This does not mean that there is no disease present during this process. Some people suddenly develop severe illnesses or die, and others may say,“I am healthy, I undergo annual check-ups, why did I suddenly get a serious illness?” In reality, this reflects a lack of understanding of our own bodies, missing the precious time from feeling discomfort to the detection of symptoms by instruments, which is precisely the goal of“sensory medicine.”
When we start to understand our own bodies and attempt to communicate with them, we can finely sense where it feels comfortable and where it doesn’t. Through this habitual communication with the body, understanding the subtle changes in the body, we can take targeted measures or interventions early on, before a disease fully manifests.
People often neglect paying attention to their bodies when there are no problems, as seen in the saying“indulging in wine and laughter without restraint.” Once they fall ill, they feel at a loss and don’t know how to cope. As Zhang Zhongjing said in“Treatise on Cold Damage? Self-preface”:“Competing for fame and fortune, pursuing power and wealth, diligently seeking, prioritizing fame and profit, embellishing the superficial while neglecting the essential, decorating the exterior while neglecting the interior.” What to do when one falls ill? When one falls ill, one might“lower aspirations, be humble, seek the guidance of shamans and diviners, and, when poor, return to the heavens,” entrusting one’s life to doctors. In the end, whatever the doctor says, the patient does, often without truly understanding what is wrong with their body.
The purpose of studying“sensory medicine” is to learn how to understand one’s own body and know how to respond when faced with different situations.
Feng Liu: Dr. Cheng connects the assessment of disease symptoms with our own“sensory perception.” Many times, before symptoms are detected by instruments, a person’s sensory perception appears first. Through“sensory medicine,” we can enter a realm of self-examination achieved through“sensory perception.”
What is the definition of health? From the perspective of the entire space-time energy relationship, health is essentially a state of harmonious existence of energy. In three-dimensional space, what we see is a harmonious, healthy energy balance of a tangible body. However, in a higher spatial pattern, health is only a surface phenomenon, closely linked to the harmony of our internal energy.
Therefore, from a broader perspective, health is a state where our conscious energy and material energy are highly harmonious in the present, a natural energy balance. Conversely, disease is an unnatural state of energy balance. Since the entire universe is a whole, the body and the entire universe inside and outside form a unified state. This can cause all our internal energies to become entangled and may manifest externally through different channels. These manifestations are actually the presentation of the entire energy structure system, known as the“form, sensation, perception, activity, and consciousness,” or the“Five Aggregates.”“Form and sensation” refer to our own“sensory perception,” and“sensory perception” is an internal and external interactive relationship of energy operation, also generated by energy resonance. Disease is an unnatural energy balance, and this unnaturalness produces different signals at different levels.
Therefore,“sensory medicine” has different levels of depth, and by searching for internal unnatural energy at different depths, entanglement points and depths can be discovered and adjusted. Dr. Cheng’s establishment of“sensory medicine” provides us with a comprehensive system aimed at helping us better understand the entire body and enhance our self-healing ability.
A“complete living organism” includes our manifested life in three-dimensional space and our conscious energy’s overall existence in higher-dimensional space. Compared to Eastern and Western, modern scientific and traditional Chinese medicine systems, a complete living organism has a different understanding of the fundamental difference between a“living body” and a“corpse.” A complete living organism includes both tangible and intangible parts, whereas a corpse usually focuses on the body’s hardware structure but lacks energy operation; many energy patterns no longer exist in a state of death. Only when alive can the entire energy body display at the current moment, and its entire consciousness and overall body state are integrated into an energy structure. This is when a complete understanding of life is achieved.
The expression“complete living organism” conveys a holographic life system, where the term“holographic” refers to the entire N-dimensional universe information, constituting the complete connotation of current life. This connotation includes the material body, the mental body, and the life origin’s“Trinity,” known in Taoist philosophy as“essence, energy, and spirit.” It is also the essence of the entire universe’s projection source, presented in the energy relationships in space and in the“image” in three-dimensional space. Therefore, understanding this level allows us to comprehend the essence of the universe and know that the“Trinity” logic is ubiquitous.
When we continually expand our perspective of space and time, we can discover that the embodiment of human wisdom is a holographic life, or a“complete living organism” — a representation of life as a whole. Only when we seek unity and respect differences in this system, searching for their commonalities, can we find the most inclusive expression and description.
Xiaoming Cheng：The“mind” and the“body” looks like two independent components in most people eyes. The brain often subjectively guides us, issuing various commands: What should I do? How should I do it? Where to go? On the contrary, the body quietly and objectively informs you: What am I feeling? Is my current state good or bad? Unfortunately, we often hesitate to spend time listening to our own bodies.
For example, when standing, have you ever tried to feel how your toes touch the ground? Experience how the ankle joint supports the body’s balance? Perceive the entire breathing process, from the air entering the nostrils to the lungs? Understand the differences between chest breathing, abdominal breathing, dan tian breathing, and fetal breath? If we can experience the entire breathing process, we can sense the exchange of the body’s energy and the flow of blood with tranquil and detailed consciousness.
The relationship between the“body and sensation” is closer than we imagine. The body faithfully and objectively records all our emotions, feelings, information, and the story of life, presenting them very accurately through“sensation.” Every life experience produces sensations and expresses them in the body; the body does not lie, it understands everything. Therefore, many times, words are not necessary; the body will tell you proactively.
This involves the concept of the“whole existence realm.” If we view the universe as a“whole,” then within this realm of existence, all entities carry the information of the whole, and humans are entities within this whole existence realm. Similarly, the body is a relative whole existence realm; for example, a cell in the body is an independent whole existence realm that contains all the information within the body.
The body is the visible soul, and the soul is the invisible body. The body is the display of the soul; the body can unlock the password of the soul. Every cell in the body retains memories from ancient and present life. While the brain may sometimes be lazy or forgetful, as seen in conditions like dementia that lead to memory loss, the body does not forget; it preserves all memories intact. To become aware of these ancient imprints, we need to start by caring for ourselves and feeling our bodies. By gradually understanding the body, opening and unlocking these ancient traces, we can quickly grasp the essence of the body, thus preventing diseases early.
The body is not only the vessel of the soul but also a natural projection and a channel connecting universal energy. Therefore, by perceiving the body, engaging in timely dialogues with it, and unlocking the ancient imprints left by natural laws on the human body, we are dedicated to what“sensory medicine” strives to achieve.
Feng Liu: Dr. Cheng expressed the holographic energy relationship between the body and sensations very profoundly. In the universe, any particle transmits all energy waves through it, possessing the integrity of all information in the universe and their interrelationships. This is referred to as“cosmic holography,” highly aligned with the concept of“life holography.”
The“holistic existence realm” is a holographic concept where any locality contains all interenergy relationships of existence. This particularly involves the soul and the body. In reality, the“spirit” of the soul is of higher dimensions, representing high-dimensional energy, while the body is the manifestation and projection of energy in three-dimensional space. Since the higher dimension is the source of the projection, the projection source represents our true energy essence. The often mentioned“ancient medicine” and“ancient wisdom” actually refer to the relationship between humans and the higher-dimensional universe, which comes from the higher dimension.
The“brain and body,” as a separation of our consciousness and body, is the expression of“matter and consciousness,” while Eastern wisdom uses the term“heart” to connect them. At the same time, the“heart” is related to the existence in the external world, meaning the heart is the universe.
By caring for oneself and beginning to feel oneself,“love” is the perception of the greatest energy in three-dimensional space, capable of mediating all energy. Through this process, when resonating in sync with this greatest energy (love), we can not only perceive the nodes of unnatural energy balance but also adjust the overall energy frequency from a higher energy frequency. This is exactly what“sensory medicine” provides for our next step—how to transform this internal contradiction and entanglement of energy.
Xiaoming Cheng：The logical relationship in sensory medicine is as follows: From the material perspective of the universe, any substance contains energy. Energy, in the process of transformation, manifests as the release of energy and presents itself in vibrational form. The vibrational waves of energy are perceived by us, which is called sensation, and sensations can form cognition.
Through the senses of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind, we perceive reception, thought, action, and consciousness. These sensations can form our memory, feelings that are remembered will not be forgotten, and these memories can be imprinted on our bodies, forming genetic or instinctive traits. In this logical relationship,“sensation” is the key to the biological control of life.
Sensation has several characteristics. Firstly, sensation is selfish, belonging only to oneself. Secondly, sensation is immeasurable. For example, the degree of a headache is something others cannot know. Thirdly, consciousness can induce the generation of sensations. Subjective conscious energy can lead to different sensations. Fourthly, bodily sensations can change consciousness. Sometimes, prolonged stimulation of unpleasant or painful sensations on the body can lead to a change in consciousness, even confusion.
Sensation is built on the foundation of a complete living organism. Therefore, from the perspective of the individual, all sensations are valid, and this validity is based on the individual’s understanding of knowledge, the body, and the concept of the complete living organism and holistic existence realm.“How can a fish know the joy of a fish?” Therefore, under the premise of a complete living organism, any subjectively guided sensation exists, including conscious sensations and inspiration.
In the training process of“sensory medicine,” it begins with“entering stillness,” calming the entire body, gradually feeling life, experiencing the breath, heartbeat, brain activity, spinal cord activity, gastrointestinal movement, and more. We refer to this refined visceral sensation as“microsensation.”
Through the power of the mind, one can also guide the desired pleasure or sensation on the body. Training sensation can enhance the cognitive process of sensation, which is called“divine awareness and intention.”“Divine awareness” is feeling the surrounding environment after closing your eyes, perceiving the crowd, the vibrations of flying birds, and the rustling of leaves through your third eye.“Intention” is concentrating energy for the purpose of repairing and altering a certain structure of the body.
Feng Liu：When discussing sensation, it involves the mechanism from representation to the internal, introducing a particularly important concept—the relationship between matter, energy, and information.
Scientifically, the expression is quite simple: everything that exists is an energy wave. The most basic form of existence is a sine wave. Energy waves, through resonance and superposition, form energy structures, which, in three-dimensional space, appear as matter. This type of matter is not substantial but the result of energy superposition, presenting the sensations we touch and perceive, while also demonstrating the laws of mutual movement of matter and our knowledge system of it.“Perception, reception, thought, action, consciousness” are results of the superposition of energy structures, and each energy wave carries amplitude and frequency, which is information. Therefore, matter, energy, and information are integral, constituting the essence of the universe and existence.
Energy waves are the result of vibration. A simple harmonic vibration appears on the timeline as the movement of energy waves. The particle composition of this vibration is a simple sine wave, and the simplest movement pattern of this vibration is circular motion. Thus, vibration itself is an expression of the essence of movement.
All sensations have the potential to be strengthened and transformed into a fixed or relatively solidified understanding of that sensation. When a sensation is solidified, this process becomes not only human experience and consciousness but also forms the attachment of limited cognition. Therefore, this in itself is a“karma,” an obstacle to higher-dimensional wisdom.
Sensation belongs to oneself and is immeasurable. It is impossible to judge and test sensations in the way of three-dimensional boundaries. Sensation is intangible, and measuring the intangible in tangible ways is like using a finite ruler to measure infinite space, which is impossible. Therefore, sensation belongs only to oneself because the inner self is the source of projection. The connection between the projection source and the spacetime energy is the reason for the manifestation of sensation. The projection source is not external but within every life itself because it is one with the inner energy.
The internal energy structures constitute all existence in the external world. The sensations of the body are the channel between us and the external world. This is a two-way channel; the external world is associated with us through“eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body,” and upon entering the internal, it relies entirely on“bodily sensations” for transmission. This“bodily sensation” is generated by energy resonance, and each person’s description of it is limited, thus reflecting the individual attributes of each sensation.
There is a simple logic: different people experiencing the same illness may perceive different levels of suffering due to differences in their internal states and life conditions. Some people, even with severe illnesses, can mitigate the intensity of pain through internal cognitive abilities by giving themselves instructions for sensation blocking or transformation, resulting in a less intense experience of suffering. On the other hand, some individuals, due to excessive attachment to surface sensations, strengthen these sensations with fearful, conflicting, and entangled energy, and even with minor illnesses, they may feel particularly painful. Therefore, sensations vary from person to person and are directly related to each individual’s internal cognitive abilities and energy structures.
So, how can one communicate with sensations? It starts with“entering stillness,” activating the two-way channel of the perception system. This internalizes, finding the connection between our perception and the internal, while also modulating the sensitivity and functional relationships of the sensation system through internal input. This is the true internalization of perception, and the channel for the internalization of perception is the body. However, some people live in the representation of the body; their internalized perception system, the channel entering the projection source, is blocked. Therefore,“entering stillness” is only achieved when the body and mind truly calm down, allowing for higher sensitivity and even a deeper awareness of the resonance of energy waves.
Author information:
Professor Xiaoming Cheng, a Chinese medicine physician at the Institute of Integrative Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Visiting Professor of Zhejiang Chinese Medicine University, special expert of Shanghai Fudan Medical College and Huashan Hospital, holographic life system integration expert. He is the author of the English version of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Clinical Desk Reference and the Chinese version of Ten Lectures on TCM Methodology.
Mr. Liu Feng，The Advocate and Disseminator of Holistic Universe Theory The Author of best-selling book Open Your High-Dimensional Wisdom.
